Bound By Love
by Veluphora
Summary: Shigure spots Akito trying to sneak out of the main house wrapped in a blanket and wonders about it, enough to prompt her to reveal why. Post-manga. One-shot. Akkigure.


Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket or its characters - all rights go to Natsuki Takaya, manga-ka goddess that she is!  


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"Akito-san…where are you going?" inquired Shigure, tilting his head to the side and shooting her a quizzical look.

"It's none of your –"

"And why are you going wearing _that_?" He gestured at the blanket wrapped around her shoulders. "It's a nice accessory and all, don't get me wrong…it's just a bit unusual for your taste." Akito bristled.

"That's also none –"

"Akito." She stopped.

"What?" she growled, glaring at him with irritation.

"Come here, please." Shigure beckoned her over with a graceful wave of his hand. His eyes were filled with mirth, but his lips were fixed in a skeptical frown.

She hesitated. He motioned again. She came, showing her displeasure at being delayed with a scowl that unconsciously morphed into an anxious waver of the mouth.

As soon as she was within his reach, he pulled her in close, grabbing her by the shoulders. Then he whispered in her ear, "Take it off." She jumped back, startled.

"No!" Her yell was muffled by the quick reddening of her cheeks, a sensation which caused her voice to gag at the end of the word. "Shigure –"

"Do it. If not for me, then for you."

"What –"

"Stop me if it's what you want." Wordlessly, he began to slip the blanket off of her slim figure.

Akito felt her cheeks burn hotter, but she didn't make a sound or move to stop him.

Shigure stared at what was underneath with weary dismay. "You promised me you wouldn't wear that anymore." His voice had grown harsh, edged – nothing like what she had heard only a moment before. She flinched.

"I have to. They still think –"

"No, you don't have to. Whatever they think is none of your business." His tone lifted a bit at the end of his second sentence. "Akito. Please." She stared at him.

"They are expecting a _male_ head of the family."

"You don't have to live up to anyone's expectations anymore…remember?" he teased, beginning to strip off the suit she was wearing and making the mental note to toss it into a fireplace the instant he got the chance.

She nodded, her head staying bent and her mouth staying silent as he tugged at the binder around her chest. It was the article he hated the most, she knew – she'd found him with it after the breaking of the curse, about to throw it into a trash compactor, and had to beg him to stop. She never knew when or if she would need it again – although she hoped she wouldn't, it was best to be practical, prepared for any circumstance. If she could have known for certain that she'd never need it again, she'd have thrown it into the trash compactor herself. However, if she had, she would have now been in a most unwelcome situation. A few old 'family' connections had resurfaced lately, and wanted to meet with the Sohma family head to discuss business matters. The Sohma family head, who they had been previously informed was a male.

"What do _you_ suggest I do, then?" she asked Shigure crossly, her gaze challenging. "If they find out they've been lied to, it will be all over the news. The Sohmas will be labeled as corrupt and we will lose business. The gossip will mutilate our family's image and reputation." She paused, taking a breath. "I…I cannot let that happen."

"I know." Shigure's voice had returned its usual, even tone. "We can tell them that you are the successor of the previous – and male – family head. Which is not a lie – not at all." He looked at her intently. "Just don't say that you're the _new_ family head – because that _would_ be a lie," he joked, smiling a little. "Besides…you _did_ promise me." It sounded like a gentle reminder of the fact, but his eyes shimmered with hurt when he said it.

She shivered, knocked off her guard by the brief glimpse beneath that generally immeasurable surface. "I…I didn't –"

"You didn't what?" His voice was sharp, and she shivered again. How quickly his moods could change! "If you didn't mean it, you shouldn't have said it…don't make promises you can't – or won't – keep." He smiled knowingly. "And especially not to _me_," he whispered menacingly, bending over her and placing his arms at her sides, pinning her to the wall. "I will know."

She felt like crying. "Sh…Shigure –" He put a finger to her lips, then smiled wider.

"I know." She tried to fight it, but a single tear managed to slide down her cheek. He wiped it away, moving his finger from her lips to the shadows of her eye. He brought her closer, cradling her body with his and placing his hand in her hair. "I know."

"B-but…but how…" Although she struggled to get the words out, he understood.

"Akito…the bond you've wanted, always wanted – it's real. _We_ have it. We are bound, bound together. Bound by love." His smile was the gentlest she'd ever seen it, and that realization caused her to let loose a few more tears, which he removed and then continued calmly, "Which is why you could never have had it with the other Zodiac members….you loved them, and they loved you, but it wasn't _true_ love. Not with the way you treated each other." She started to sob. Sometimes she hated how good he was with words. It all made sense, of course it did – of course _he_ did. He always did in the end. But it hurt sometimes.

Though it healed sometimes, too.

"St…stop it," she gasped, between sobs.

"Stop what?" taunted Shigure, looking at her innocently. "Your crying?" He seemed completely unaffected by it.

"No," she snapped, breaking. "Your _talking_!"

Shigure stretched his arm dramatically across his forehead, as though he were wounded. "Oh, _how_ you have hurt me!"

"Ironic," she hissed, watching him with malice. She paused for a beat. "I'm leaving."

"My, my…I do hope you're not leaving naked. Good heavens – I know what that is like."

"Of course not, now give me back the suit!"

"Sorry…I'm not really inclined to do such a thing." He dangled the clothing in front of her, just out of her reach. "Hm…take a good look. You may never see these again."

"GIVE ME THE DAMN SUIT! I'M GOING TO BE LATE!"

"That you are," he answered placidly, eyeing her with amusement. "I suppose you'll just have to wear something else."

"Why, you…" she snarled, glowering at him.

"Don't you have more of them?" he teased, smirking at her.

"YOU KNOW _DAMN_ WELL I DON'T! Hatori donated all of them…except _that one_!" She kept trying to grab it, but Shigure kept moving it at the last second. Always, always out of reach…the suit was a wave she could never catch, just like the man holding it. A star in a sky in which she couldn't fly up to.

"Fine. I'll…I'll go naked," she threatened.

She wouldn't fly up to him. She would drag him down to her level.

"Will you really?" he asked immediately, feigning surprise. "Will you really, Akito-san?" She gritted her teeth.

"Yes," she spat. He tutted softly.

"No, you won't. You're quite the terrible little liar, Akito-san." Perhaps he was dragging _her_ down.

"Then I'll go wearing the robe. They won't be –"

"_**No**_." Shigure's voice came out as dry as she'd ever heard it, made raspy by anger – a low growl rather than a playful bark.

"– able to tell the difference," she finished quietly. She knew when he was not to be reasoned with; she had heard this tone before – although rare, those times had been harsh enough that she still remembered them. And still he did not break.

He glanced at her coldly, another action that gave her shivers. "You will not. Or I will take that as well."

"Shigure!" she began, outraged.

"_**No**_," he repeated, staring right at her. "You will go to the meeting wearing female clothing." His hand gripped hers, suffocating it until it slid out of his grasp. "Or – " He smiled slightly. " – you will go naked."

"…_Why!?_" she breathed after a moment of silence, incredulous.

"You are not bound by that promise anymore. _You are bound by love_. Our _love_," he emphasized, stroking her dark hair and kissing the top of her head several times as she fell into a heap at his feet and wept, clutching his arms tightly as he produced a new dress from beneath his robe.

"_**I love you, Akito-san."**_

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Please, please, please review! I'd love some feedback. This wasn't my first fanfiction but it was my first concerning only Akito and Shigure.


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